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Saturday, January 7, 2017

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.

My Review:
This was a very cute, quick read! While it was a little predictable at times, and full of grief at other times, overall it was a great, quick read. I loved how well I felt like I really got to know Lina and her journey to understand her mom.

I also think the fact that I have been to Italy helped with the enjoyment of this book. I had been to most of the places they were talking about (other than the secret bakery- what a shame!) and that made it easier to envision what they were talking about.

I read this book in the winter, but I think it is a perfect summer vacation read. It made me wish I had spent some more time in Italy to find that love that they kept talking about! "There are two reasons people STAY in Italy- love and gelato"

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Goodreads Summary:
Falling in love is the last thing on his busy agenda but compromising positions can lead just about anywhere.

David Strong knows how to do a lot of things run an international fitness company, finesse stock portfolios and stay out of emotional entanglements. That is, until he gets tangled up with Sophie Delfino and her Sensational Sex workout. He s supposed to help her demonstrate Kama Sutra positions for her couples yoga class. The rigorous postures require more than just physical control. And his co-instructor unexpectedly tests his control to the limit.

Sophie s been fantasizing about David since her teens, but she never dreamed she d actually be expected to run through her intimate desires with an audience! The class is very professional, tame even or it would be, if she d been in any of the positions before. But she hasn t except in her wildest fantasies about David. Sophie knows she wants David in every way, and she s flexible enough to use whatever she has to get him.

David can t afford any unexpected distractions. Besides the sensual positions he has to endure without embarrassing himself in public, there s an embezzler stealing from his company. And then there s Sophie who is well on her way to stealing his well-guarded heart

My Review:
This book was full of humor and romance. Two things I enjoy in books. There was also a lot of sexual tension between the characters. The book goes back and forth between the two main characters' perspectives. I like that because you really get a glimpse into what they are thinking and feeling. It was a quick read, but wasn't as great as I was expecting.

There was a lot of unnecessary scheming and drama. A lot of it seemed unfinished. I felt as though there were a couple missing pieces of information to make it complete. I can't put my finger on what exactly I was missing, but at a couple places in the book I would find myself confused. When that happened, I would go back a little bit and re-read to make sure that I hadn't missed anything. This never made it any clearer though. I do not like being confused by the plot of a book. Overall, it was a cute book, but not one that I would pick up again.

3.5 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

Monday, December 19, 2016

I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love by Emily Maynard Johnson with A.J. Gregory

Goodreads Summary:
When her high-profile search for romance led Emily Maynard to dead end after dead end, real love finally found her.

Millions know Emily Maynard Johnson from her unprecedented double appearances on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Millions also know that neither of the relationships from those shows lasted much longer than a commercial break.

Overcome with embarrassment following her nationally televised failures at romance, Emily finally committed her heart to the only one she knew would never leave her empty and alone. Abandoning her desire to be chosen by men and finding peace in the fact that she was already chosen by God, Emily found the joy she had been looking for in serving God.

In I Said Yes, Emily tells the story of her life before and after reality TV fame, describing the profound new reality she discovered when she forsook fame in favor of the Lord. At the end of a long, fruitless search for a man, this courageous young woman found the truest love of all waiting right in front of her. To that love, Emily said yes.

My Review:
Being a huge Bachelor/Bachelorette fan, I feel like I have followed Emily Maynard in her journey of love. I became invested in her story, and was so happy for her when she got married to her now husband Tyler. So, I knew that I would love to read a book about her story from her perspective.

The first half of the book is about her first love, and all of the struggles that she went through with that. While I was interested in this part of her story, it is a dark part of her story. It was hard to read, and took me a while to get through. I can only imagine how it felt to live through it. That being said, the second half of the book was definitely my favorite part. This is where she wrote about her journey of the Bachelor and then on the Bachelorette. She shared a lot of things that the viewers have no idea of when simply watching the show. It was cool to read, but definitely made me wonder how ANYONE finds true love in the short amount of time they have to film this show.

All in all, this was a book that I enjoyed reading. I loved hearing Emily's story from her perspective, and am so happy that she is now happily married.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Juliette Mabry is a happily married stay-at-home wife and mother...until there appears to be trouble brewing in her nearly ten-year marriage. Juliette takes it upon herself to find out if her husband is up to no good, but does she want to know the truth? Everything is revealed on Christmas, and Juliette is in for her biggest Christmas surprise.

Samantha March is an author, editor, publisher, blogger, and all around book lover. She runs the popular book/women’s lifestyle blog ChickLitPlus, which keeps her bookshelf stocked with the latest reads and up to date on all things beauty, fashion and fitness. In 2011 she launched her independent publishing company Marching Ink and has four published novels – Destined to Fail, The Green Ticket, A Questionable Friendship and Up To I Do. You can also find her on Youtube sharing beauty reviews and creating makeup tutorials. When she isn’t reading, writing, or vlogging, you can find her cheering for the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs. Samantha lives in Iowa with her husband and Vizsla puppy.

Monday, August 3, 2015

I have WAAAY too many books on my TBR pile (both physical and on my kindle). In fact, it's out of control. So, this post is going to become a monthly thing. You can check out my first post here.

Here's how it works:
At the end of every month, I am going to tell you how many books are on my TBR, how many I have added, how many I have deducted (either by reading or giving away), and my new total number of books on my TBR. This is supposed to help me keep this in check. We will see how it goes. (By the way-- this is only books that I own. They can be physical copies or on my kindle, but this does not include all the books on my goodreads list that I want to read. Just what I already own or have received for review).

In my first post I told you that I had 364 books on my TBR. Last month it went up to 381 books. Since then I have added 0 more books. So, now we still have a total of 381. And I have read 3 books. Which leaves us with an updated total of 378 books!

The number is still higher than I started with unfortunately, but it is decreasing!!

How many books do you have on your TBR? How do you keep track and keep things under control? I would love to know your secrets!

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Goodreads Summary:
A gritty but hopeful love story about two struggling teens—
great for fans of The Spectacular Now, Willow, and Eleanor and Park

Tyler has a football scholarship to Stanford, a hot girlfriend, and a reliable army of friends to party with. Then his mom kills herself. And Tyler lets it all go. Now he needs to dodge what his dad is offering (verbal tirades and abuse) and earn what his dad isn’t (money). Tyler finds a job that crashes him into Jordyn, his former childhood friend turned angry-loner goth-girl. She brings Tyler an unexpected reprieve from the never-ending pity party his life has become. How could he not fall for her? But with his dad more brutally unpredictable than ever, Tyler knows he can’t risk bringing Jordyn too deeply into the chaos. So when violence rocks his world again, will it be Jordyn who shows him the way to a hopeful future? Or after everything, will Tyler have to find it in himself?

Monday, July 27, 2015

Goodreads Summary:
Author Jen Malone draws on her real-life experiences as a movie studio publicist to bring you an insider peek at love, Hollywood-style.

The California dream was supposed to give seventeen-year-old Annie Shelton a fresh start far removed from her dad’s unusual betrayal. But when things don’t go according to plan in La La Land, Annie’s mom snags a last-minute gig as makeup artist to a teen movie idol and finagles a spot for her daughter on his European promotional tour.

Down-to-earth Annie would rather fangirl architectural sights than an arrogant A-lister. That is, until behind-the-scenes Graham Cabot turns out to be more sweetly vulnerable than she could have imagined.

Too bad falling for a poster boy isn’t all red carpets and star treatment, especially when you factor in obnoxious fans, an overprotective assistant, a stage mom/manager, and a beefy bodyguard.

But it isn’t until the paparazzi make an appearance that things get really sticky…

My Review:
At only 241 pages, this is a very quick read. This is a very cute, contemporary, young adult book. I did not want to put this book down. It wasn't suspenseful, in fact it was kind of predictable, but it was just so dang cute. I love cheesy, teen romance stories so this book was right up my ally.

I loved the romance between Graham and Annie. They were so cute together, and I loved all of the little quirks of their relationship. I really liked all of their adventures as well. They were being typical teens, but it was cute to watch their relationship unfold.